


Nyctophobia

by bluemoonblues



Series: If You Need Me [7]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Age Play, Gen, Hostage Situations, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Non-Sexual Age Play, Nyctophobia, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:09:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21708754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemoonblues/pseuds/bluemoonblues
Summary: When a witness interview goes wrong, Kate learns something about Tony that she hadn’t known before. The revelation leaves more questions than answers.One question in particular eats at her more than any of the rest.
Relationships: Anthony DiNozzo & Caitlin Todd, Anthony DiNozzo & Jethro Gibbs, Jethro Gibbs & Caitlin Todd
Series: If You Need Me [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1564711
Comments: 9
Kudos: 125





	1. Tied Up

“Lance Corporal David Hendricks was found by two young women returning from a bar at around 0300 this morning. His body was two blocks away from the bar, and witnesses say he was a regular at the establishment,” Kate debriefed, reading her notes as she switched slides on the plasma. “Ducky is still performing the autopsy, but due to bruising around the neck that was determined to be caused prior to the Lance Corporal’s death, we’re looking at potential strangulation.”

“A crime of passion,” DiNozzo remarked. “Whoever killed him felt really personally about getting it done.”

“Kate, do we have the names of the witnesses?” Gibbs asked.

“Yes. There’s the women who found his body, Angela Milton and Rosa Torres, whose statements we already have, and then there’s a,” Kate squinted at her notes, “Carl Weller. Apparently he’s a regular patron of the bar as well.”

“I want you to find Weller and interview him. See if he saw anything suspicious that night or if he can tell us anything else about the Lance Corporal,” Gibbs ordered. Kate nodded and walked around her desk, grabbing her go-bag. She already had Weller’s home address, having already anticipated that Gibbs would ask her to interview him.

“DiNozzo, go with Todd.”

“Got it, Boss,” DiNozzo said, jogging to his desk and grabbing his go-bag. Kate sighed quietly and pinched the bridge of her nose. She did  _ not  _ feel like dealing with Tony’s obnoxious chatter today, but she knew that she’d have to put up with it for the entire hour-long trip to the witness’ house. There was simply no way of shutting Tony up. “What’s wrong, Katie-Kate? Not ready for a road trip with your favorite fella? Don’t worry, we’re gonna have  _ plenty _ of fun.”

Scoffing, Kate walked to the elevator and pressed the button, waiting for the doors to open. “Tony, the last thing I want to be doing is going on a road trip with  _ you.  _ That sounds like something out of my nightmares.”

“Well, I guess it’s just your lucky day, then,” DiNozzo quipped, flashing Kate a big smile. Rolling her eyes, Kate stepped into the elevator as the doors opened.

“Must be,” she muttered, pressing the button that would take them down to the parking garage. “Oh, and Tony? I’m driving. I don’t particularly feel like dying today.”

“Uh, excuse me? Which one of us is the senior field agent, and which of us joined  _ three months ago? _ ” DiNozzo protested.

“Who tracked down the witness and got not only his name but his address and place of employment, too?” Kate responded. Tony’s silence was all the response she needed, and Kate smirked as she stepped out of the elevator and into the car garage. “ _ I’m  _ driving.”

“Whatever, you win. I’ll be 80 by the time we get to the witness’ house, but oh well,” Tony replied, following behind her.

“Ha ha, you’re hilarious, Tony,” Kate said, voice dripping with sarcasm. She found the car and unlocked it, sliding into the driver’s seat as Tony did the same to the passenger’s. Minutes later, they were on the road.

Like Kate was expecting, Tony did not stop talking for the entire ride. She mostly tuned him out, but the farther into the trip they got, the harder it became.

“Geez, Tony, do you ever stop to take a breath?” She asked, squeezing the steering wheel.

“Of course, Kate. At the end of every sentence I get at least a good second of air,” Tony replied, giving her another one of those obnoxious smiles.

Kate counted her blessings as they pulled up to Weller’s house, trying to forget that she’d have to deal with it all a second time when they drove back. Hopefully, she’d be able to get good info from Weller when they interviewed him; it would make the trip back at least a bit more tolerable, knowing that Gibbs would be satisfied with her work.

Ringing the doorbell, Kate took a step back and waited patiently for Weller to come to the door, Tony right next to her. 

No one came to the door. Frowning, she rang the doorbell again, this time holding the button down longer.

“Is this guy even home?” Tony muttered, rocking impatiently on his heels. “Sure doesn’t  _ seem  _ to be.”

“He should be. His only car is in the driveway and he works night shifts,” Kate sighed, peeking at the window next to the porch to see if she could detect movement from inside.

“Maybe I should go around back,” Tony suggested.

“Tony, he’s just a witness. Don’t you think that’s a bit overkill?” Kate asked.

Rolling his eyes, Tony sighed. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. But I have a bad feeling about this, just so we’re both clear.”

“Me too,” Kate admitted quietly. She walked back up the steps of the porch and rang the doorbell twice, pounding on the door a few times.

Another minute passed, and finally, the front door opened. A tall man with a built frame stood on the other side of the doorway, brown hair in disarray. 

“Can I help you?”

“Carl Weller, we’re with NCIS,” Kate said. “I’m Special Agent Todd and this is Special Agent DiNozzo. We’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“About Dave’s murder, huh?” Weller asked, stepping back from the front door and motioning for Kate and Tony to come inside. “Right then, come on in.”

Kate walked inside and Tony followed. She looked around, noting the slight disarray of the man’s home. His dining room table was stacked with papers and unopened mail, the stairway by the front door littered with miscellaneous things along the guardrail. Clearly, the man didn’t care much for organization.

Weller led them to his living room, motioning for them to sit on the couch while he took a seat in an armchair across from them. Kate and Tony each pulled out a pen and a notebook as they sat, preparing to note anything important Weller might tell them.

“So, you’ve got some questions for me?” Weller asked, leaning back in the armchair.

“Yes, Mr. Weller. Did you know the victim at all? Both of you were regular patrons of the bar,” Kate began, pen poised over her notebook.

“Yeah, I knew ‘im. Damn near everyone in the bar’d know ‘im after a night of drinking. Was a talkative sonofabitch. Kind of military man that likes to start fights once he got enough whiskey in his system,” Weller said. Kate squinted. Weller seemed like he was trying to sound neutral, but Kate could tell that something was off. From the sound of it, Weller had experienced the Lance Corporal’s hotheadedness firsthand. “Thought he was all big and bad. Was only a matter a’ time before somethin’ like this happened, really.”

“He liked to start fights?” Tony asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Weller replied. “Damn near got ‘imself kicked out just about every night. Always sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.”

“Is there anyone in particular that you can think of that he’d been fighting with on the night of his murder?” Tony asked.

Weller looked up at the ceiling, eyes squinted in thought. Or, more accurately… mock-thought. Kate frowned. Something definitely wasn’t right, here. Weller knew much more than he was letting on. She looked over at Tony, who seemed to be oblivious to the fact that the man was hiding something.

Weller then snapped his fingers and looked back at them. “You know what? I think I do remember him having a spat with another regular. Name’s Andrew Pollock, I’ve got his number on my rolodex.” Weller stood from his chair. “I’ll go grab it for you.”

As soon as he walked away, Kate tapped Tony’s arm. Tony looked at her, and Kate whispered, “Something’s not right. He’s not telling us everything he knows.”

“Think he had something to do with the murder?” Tony whispered back.

Kate shrugged. “I don’t know, but it sure seems like it. At the very least he knows more than he’s letting on.”

At that moment, Weller walked back into the room. He had a gun in his hand, pointed right at them. “Ain’t you clever?” Weller said, walking until he was standing in front of them. “Not clever enough to have this conversation out of earshot, but at least clever enough to figure out I was hidin’ something.”

Tony reached for his own gun, and Weller tsked, cocking the gun in his hand.

“I wouldn’t do that, Special Agent DiNozzo. Not unless you want to see what your partner would look like with a bullet in her chest.”

Tony slowly pulled his hand away from his holster.

“Good boy,” Weller praised. “Now, here’s what’s gonna happen. Agent DiNozzo, you’re gonna put your hands up and stand slowly. Try anything, and I’ll put a bullet in Agent Todd.”

Tony did as he was told, jaw clenched. Kate sat frozen on the couch, trying to figure out what she could do to alert someone of what was happening without getting caught. 

Her opportunity came as Weller stepped forward and took Tony’s gun. She quickly pulled out her phone and pressed her number for Gibbs’ speed dial and shoved it between two couch cushions as Weller patted Tony down for any other weapons and took his phone.

Clearing Tony, Weller ordered him to sit back down.

“You next, Special Agent Todd,” Weller said. Kate stood, hands raised as Weller took her gun and patted her down. “Where’s your cell phone?”

“I left it on my desk,” Kate responded.

Weller pointed the gun at Tony, who stiffened. “You sure about that?”

“Yes. I was in a rush and I forgot to grab it,” Kate repeated, voice calm. “You can search me again.”

Weller stared at her for a minute, judging whether he believed her to be telling the truth or not. He lowered the gun and Tony deflated with a quiet sigh. If Weller found the cellphone stashed between the cushions, they’d have issues. Hopefully, Gibbs had picked up the phone and would be able to get Abby to trace the call.

“Both of you, stand up and walk in front of me,” Weller ordered, pointing the gun at them again. They did as they were told and, following Weller’s orders, walked to a door that could only have a basement on the other side of it. “Open the door.”

Tony twisted the handle and pushed the door open, and his body immediately stiffened.

“Down the stairs.”

Kate began to move forward but nearly ran into Tony’s back. “Tony,” she hissed.  _ “Go.” _

“You better listen to your partner,” Weller warned. Kate felt the cool metal of the barrel of the gun against the back of her head. “Or she’ll be tasting lead.”

Tony finally began walking again, heading down the steps into the pitch-black basement. Weller removed the gun from Kate’s head and she sighed in relief.

Flicking on a dim light as he entered the room last, Weller followed them into the basement and had them stand against the wall, backs to him and hands next to their heads. The sound of chairs sliding against concrete met Kate’s ears, as well as the sound of rope hitting the ground. Weller grabbed a few other things that Kate couldn’t make out from sound alone.

“Alright, Special Agent Todd, you first,” Weller said. “Turn around slowly and come here. Try anything, and Special Agent DiNozzo pays for it.”

Kate did as she was ordered, spotting two chairs with their backs against each other in the middle of the room. Weller pushed her into one and forced her hands behind her back. He then pulled out a roll of duct tape and tied her hands together. Once he’d done that, he did the same to her ankles.

“Special Agent DiNozzo, your turn,” Weller said. “Same rules apply. Don’t make me shoot your partner.”

Tony turned around, glaring at Weller but complying with his orders. Once his hands and ankles were duct taped together, Weller took the rope and wrapped it around both of them, pulling it taut and tying the knot where neither of them would be able to reach. Weller stood back, admiring his handiwork.

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here,” Tony said, the first time he’d dared to speak since Weller pulled out a gun. “You’re responsible for Lance Corporal Hendricks’ murder.”

“Nice detective work,” Weller snarked. “Now keep your damn mouth shut.”

Emphasizing his words, Weller brought his hand around, forcefully slapping Tony in the face. Kate winced at the sharp sound it made and Tony’s responding grunt. Seconds later, she heard him spit what must have been blood.

“Now, I’ll let you two sit here a while, then we’ll have a chat,” Weller said, backing away from the pair until he was at the bottom of the stairs.

Weller climbed the stairs and flicked off the light, engulfing them in near pitch-black darkness, the only source of light being what came from the open basement door.

“Shit,” DiNozzo muttered, voice tight. Kate frowned. Surely Tony wasn’t afraid of the  _ dark? _

As the basement door closed, Kate felt him tense. Huh. Perhaps he was, then. If they got out of this alive, maybe it’d be something Kate could tease him over whenever he inevitably got on her nerves.

“I called Gibbs,” Kate said quietly, in case Weller was eavesdropping once again. “He’ll probably be here soon.”

Tony’s body didn’t loosen. “If he picked up the phone,” he muttered, voice shaky.

Kate’s frown deepened. Tony  _ really  _ didn’t sound good. She was rethinking her idea of poking fun at Tony’s apparent fear, thinking of her own irrational fear of spiders.

“Don’t worry, Tony,” Kate comforted. “Even if he didn’t pick up, he’ll realize something’s wrong soon.”

“Yeah, but what if it’s not soon enough?” Tony said. “I don’t know how long I can—“

Tony cut himself off and sighed shakily.

“How long you can what?” Kate prodded. Perhaps getting Tony to continue talking would help keep him as calm as possible.

“I really don’t like the dark, Kate,” he muttered, voice growing tighter and thicker. “And basements aren’t exactly high on my list of favorite places to be, either. Go ahead and laugh.”

“I’m not gonna laugh, Tony,” Kate said, surprising herself with how serious she was. She couldn’t remember ever being this nice to DiNozzo, but then again, she’d never heard DiNozzo this scared before, either. “And don’t worry. Gibbs  _ will  _ find us. My gut is telling me so.”

“Really? ‘Cause mine is telling  _ me  _ that we’re s-screwed,” Tony replied, breath coming faster and faster. Kate could feel him shaking steadily harder against her back and she frowned, worry tugging at her stomach. Tony was really starting to sound bad.

“Tony, you’ve gotta take some deep breaths and calm down,” Kate ordered.

“I-I-I d-don’t know if I c-can,” Tony shuddered, trembling forcefully. “I t-think I-I’m having a-a pa-panic a-atta-attack.”

“Hey, Tony, listen to me,” Kate said, trying to sound as soothing as possible, though she was admittedly out of her depth. “I know you’re scared but it’s gonna be okay.”

“I-I c-can’t be in h-here, K-Kate, I n-need,” Tony sucked in a breath and stopped talking, a quiet whine rising in his throat.

“It’s okay, Tony,” Kate soothed, her gut churning in worry. She’d  _ never  _ heard Tony this scared. It was putting her on edge. “Just listen to my breathing and try to match it, okay? You’re not alone.”

“N-Need,” Tony gasped, “Pa— Gibbs, need G-Gibbs.”

Kate did her best to touch some part of Tony, but it was a difficult task with her hands tied behind her and her middle tightly secured to the chair. She managed to find Tony’s forearm and stroked it with the tips of her fingers. “I know this is hard. But you’ve got to calm down, okay, Tony? You have to trust that Gibbs will find us. Do you trust him?”

Other than the sound of Tony’s ragged breaths, there was no response, and Kate frowned. Tony couldn’t possibly think that Gibbs wouldn’t find them, did he? No, of course not. Tony trusted Gibbs more than anyone else. Kate then realized what had happened.

“Tony, I can’t see you if you nod. I’m gonna need a verbal response,” Kate said. She had to keep him talking, distract him from his fear.

“I t-trust him,” Tony said, voice still shaky and thick, but his breathing evening out slightly. “I trust him.”

“Good,” Kate replied, continuing to stroke his forearm in what she hoped was a comforting way. “Did I ever tell you I’m terrified of spiders?”

“N-no,” Tony replied.

“I am,” Kate confirmed. God, she hoped she wasn’t making a mistake telling Tony this. “Once I woke up and there was a spider on my pillow next to me, and I screamed so loud my neighbors called the police.”

“No way,” Tony said, his breathing slowing down, though still uneven.

“Yep,” Kate said. “I wish I was making that up. I spray my apartment down every month for spiders, even in the winter.”

“You must be really scared of them,” Tony replied. His breathing had mostly returned to normal, but something was still… off. His voice sounded different, unlike what Kate was used to.

“I am,” Kate replied. “If I see a spider I totally freak out.”

“‘s how I am about the dark,” Tony said. “It’s not a problem if I can see at least a little bit. But I hate it when I can’t see anything at all.”

“I get how that can be scary,” Kate said, wondering if she should steer the conversation somewhere else so Tony didn’t freak out again. Before she could, Tony continued talking.

“My dad got mad at me for getting a bad grade one time when I was a kid, so he sent me to my room and he locked my door from the outside,” Tony said, sounding eerily detached from the words he was saying. “Then he got drunk and forgot about me, and there was a huge storm that night that knocked out the power. It was pitch-black and I was so scared. I was stuck in my room until morning.”

“Oh, Tony…” Kate whispered. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

“‘s okay. Not your fault.”

“Still,” Kate replied. “And don’t worry. Gibbs will find us soon.”

“You really think so?” Tony asked, voice small.

“I know so,” Kate replied. “We just have to stay calm.”

“You’re right,” Tony agreed. “That’s what Pa— Gibbs would want us to do.”

Kate’s eyebrows came together. Huh. For the second time, Tony seemed like he was about to call Gibbs something else before correcting himself. The first time, she’d written it off as Tony stumbling over his syllables because of his panic attack. Twice, though? Kate doubted that it was a coincidence. Perhaps Tony had given Gibbs some sort of nickname?

She couldn’t imagine who he’d use it with, though, if he wasn’t using it when Gibbs wasn’t around. He  _ certainly  _ wouldn’t use a dumb nickname to Gibbs’ face.

Storing that question away for later, Kate focused back on the situation at hand. She didn’t know how long they had until Weller came back and decided that it was in his best interest to get rid of them. If Gibbs didn’t make it in time…

Kate shook her head. She couldn’t think like that, not when she’d told Tony that he couldn’t. Kate needed to trust that Gibbs would find them.

For now, she’d have to focus on something else. Now that Tony was mostly calm, maybe they’d be able to work together to get out of the binds Weller put them in.

“Tony, I’m gonna try to get the duct tape off your wrists, then I need you to take it off mine,” Kate instructed, slumping as far down in the chair as she could in an attempt to reach Tony’s hands.

Tony obliged leaning forward as much as he could without tightening the rope around the both of them too much, so that his wrists were higher up.

“Ugh,” Kate groaned, the rope squeezing the breath out of her. She leaned down and back, feeling Tony’s arms and trying to find the duct tape wrapped his wrists. “Just a bit lower…”

Kate’s fingers finally came into contact with duct tape and she let out a breath of relief. Feeling around some more, she found the seam of the tape and worked a finger underneath it, grabbing the other side with her thumb and yanking. With a bit more maneuvering, Kate gave one final yank and the tape ripped on one side, giving enough that Tony was able to yank his hands apart and break free.

“Yes! Okay, now try to get my hands free,” Kate said, lowering herself as much as she could again so Tony could reach her hands. She felt him clumsily feel around her wrists, looking for the seam of the tape. Eventually, he found it and gave it a hard yank, reaching around her wrists and pulling more until it was unraveled entirely.

“Good job,” Kate praised. “Any idea on how to get this rope undone?”

“No,” Tony replied, letting out a sharp exhale. “I can’t reach it.”

Kate sighed. “Me neither.”

She thought for a second. She couldn’t reach the knot, sitting between her and Tony near their shoulders but just slightly behind them. It was  _ barely _ out of reach, but it was just enough to be too far. Perhaps she could wiggle until it shifted forward, enough for her to grab it?

Kate was still brainstorming ideas when she heard a bang from upstairs. It sounded like the front door being kicked open, but she couldn’t be sure.

“Kate! Tony!”

_ Gibbs.  _ Kate breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

“In the basement!” Kate yelled back. “We’re tied up!”

Light suddenly poured into the basement from the door, Gibbs’ silhouette at the top of the stairs.

“Light switch right next to you,” Kate informed him, and Gibbs switched on the lights. Kate squinted as she got used to the new lighting conditions.

Meanwhile, Gibbs jogged down the stairs, holstering his gun as he did so. He ran over to them and immediately worked on the knot, untying it in record time and throwing the rope off them. Kate rolled her shoulders over and over as the blood rushed back into her arms, her fingertips tingling.

“Weller?” Kate asked.

“Not here,” Gibbs replied, working on the duct tape around Tony’s ankles as Kate worked on her own.

“You probably already suspected, but he confessed to the murder,” Kate said.

Gibbs huffed. Kate laughed a little at his response. Yeah, she probably hadn’t exactly needed to tell him that for him to have figured it out.

“Tony, you okay?” Kate asked. He’d been eerily silent since Gibbs arrived, completely uncharacteristic of him.

No response. Kate turned around to see Tony’s head in his hands, a quiet sniffle coming from between his fingers. Panic shot through her, causing her to feel like her heart had skipped a beat. Ripping the last of the duct tape off her ankles quickly, Kate stood from the chair and came around to Tony’s side.

“Tony…” Kate said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Gibbs found us. We’re okay now, alright?”

Kate looked to Gibbs in confusion as Tony continued to cry. She had  _ never _ seen Tony like this before and she truthfully had no idea what to do. His phobia of the dark must have truly been a debilitating one.

Gibbs got the rest of the duct tape off Tony’s ankles, pulling at it gently and slowly. He then looked to Kate. “Can you go upstairs and clear the rest of the house?”

Kate nodded slowly. “Is he…?”

“He’ll be fine,” Gibbs soothed, his voice… much softer than Kate had ever heard it. Almost paternal. It shocked her, but did wonders at calming her anxiety over Tony’s state. She trusted that he was telling the truth.

Biting her lip, Kate nodded and walked upstairs, grabbing her gun off the living room table as she passed by. Weller may have been a murderer, but he surely wasn’t an intelligent one. She holstered her gun as she ascended to the second floor, checking each room upstairs as well as all of the closets. 

When she got to Weller’s room, she found piles of clothing strewn around the room as if he’d packed in a hurry, which he most likely had. There was also an empty space on a shelf at the top of the closet that looked big enough to house a suitcase. The man was certainly gone.

Kate walked back downstairs and retrieved her phone from the couch, pocketing it. She then walked back to the basement to inform Gibbs that the house was clear, but paused just outside the doorway, shocked by the scene she saw.

Gibbs was sitting on the floor, Tony curled into his side, rocking the two of them back and forth. Tony had stopped crying, but there were still tear tracks on his face that Gibbs gently wiped away. She couldn’t make out what Gibbs was saying, but he was murmuring something softly into Tony’s ear.

Kate shook her head and frowned, realizing how creepy she was being. As much as Tony invaded her privacy, watching something like this felt… much more wrong, for some reason.

“Boss,” Kate called, walking into the room and standing at the top of the stairs. Gibbs looked up at her, pausing in his rocking motions. “The rest of the house is clear.”

Gibbs nodded and looked back at Tony, starting to rock again.

“Is he alright?” Kate asked, biting her lip as her eyebrows drew together. She’d never been this worried over Tony in her  _ life _ . It was weird.

“He’s okay,” Gibbs replied, voice low. “He just doesn’t like the dark, is all.”

“He, uh. He told me,” Kate said. To her surprise, a lump started to form in her throat. She realized that for the first time, she was seeing that Tony really wasn’t just the cocky playboy that he showed the world. Sure, that wasn’t all a lie, but there was much more to him than that.

Descending the stairs, Kate sat down on the other side of Tony and rubbed his back.

“Kate? Are  _ you  _ okay?”

“Huh?”

“You’re crying,” Gibbs pointed out, eyebrows drawn in concern.

“Oh,” she said, rubbing at her eyes. Sure enough, she was crying. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” Kate nodded. “I’m good.”

Gibbs watched her for a second, then nodded. “Let’s get out of here, huh?”

“Sounds good to me,” Kate replied, standing from the dirty basement floor.

“Ready, Tony?” Gibbs asked. Tony nodded and tried to stand, but his legs were still shaky, likely from the panic attack he’d had earlier. Kate offered him a hand and he took it, letting her help him to his feet.

“Thanks,” he said, giving her a small smile. It was clear that he was thanking her for much more than the hand she’d offered him.

“Don’t mention it,” Kate replied, giving him a smile of her own.

They climbed the stairs out of the basement and Gibbs led them outside. “Good thinking on calling me, Kate. Abby got a position on you almost immediately.”

“Thanks,” Kate replied. “That’s what I was hoping for.”

Gibbs unlocked the car and opened the back door for Tony, who climbed in without complaint. Kate didn’t blame him for wanting to be as far away from this place as possible. 

“Coming?” Gibbs asked Kate.

“What about the other car?” Kate asked, holding up the keys.

“Someone else’ll take care of it,” Gibbs replied. “Everyone else is on the way, I just beat them here.”

Kate shrugged, opening the passenger door and climbing in. If she was being honest, she really didn’t feel much like driving right now, anyways. Tony had definitely taken what happened harder than she had, but it still hadn’t been easy.

Gibbs climbed in and started the car, and they were on their way back to headquarters. Tony didn’t say one word on the entire drive back, and Kate found herself worriedly glancing at him through the rear-view mirror every couple of minutes. His lip was busted from where Weller had hit him, and a slight frown rested on his face. Kate felt a matching frown on her own face in response. She knew Gibbs had said Tony would be okay, but would he?

Eventually, he fell asleep and Kate stopped checking on him, leaning her own head against the window. It was hard to believe that it was only noon; she was exhausted.

Gibbs made a few calls, putting out a BOLO on Weller’s car and alerting a few other authorities of what happened, but Kate tuned out most of what he was saying. She needed a break from the whole situation. Gibbs could handle things for an hour, she thought.

They made it back to headquarters and Kate moved to open the door, but Gibbs put a hand on her forearm. “Kate,” he said. She paused and took her hand off the door, looking at him. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” Kate assured him. “I’m okay. A little shaken up, if I’m being honest, but I’ll be okay.”

Gibbs nodded, taking his hand away from her arm.

“Can I ask you a question, Gibbs?” Kate said before the man could open his door. Gibbs looked at her and nodded for her to continue. “Has Tony done…  _ that  _ with you around before?”

“Done what?” Gibbs asked, voice neutral. Kate squinted at him.

“I don’t know how to describe it. He freaked out, but even after he calmed down a bit, he was… weird. Quiet. Which we both know is entirely unlike Tony.”

“It’s not my business to tell, but I have seen Tony like that before, yes,” Gibbs replied vaguely. “He told you why he doesn’t like the dark, right?”

Kate nodded.

“Well, it’s got a lot to do with that. If he wants to talk about it later, maybe he’ll bring it up,” Gibbs said.

“Is it like… dissociating?” Kate asked.

“Not… exactly. Like I said, it’s not my place,” Gibbs replied.

Kate bit her lip. “As long as he’s okay.”

“He’s okay,” Gibbs promised. “Trust me.”

Kate stared at him for a second, then hesitantly nodded. “Okay. I trust you.”


	2. Elevator Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finally tells Kate what happened. Kate doesn’t quite understand, but she wants to.

A week later, Weller had been caught and Tony seemed to be back to his normal self, but Kate hadn’t stopped worrying. She tried her best to let what happened go, but it had been so unlike Tony to freak out like that and she just  _ couldn’t _ . She’d seen him in some pretty dangerous situations before and he’d never once panicked, especially not enough to have a full-fledged panic attack.

Plus, Gibbs had admitted that he’d seen Tony in that state before, so that hadn’t been a one-off thing. Kate had no idea what  _ that  _ even was.

Tony had sounded so vulnerable and  _ small. _ It scared Kate senseless the more she thought about it, and for a week, it had been all she  _ could  _ think about. How raw Tony had sounded, how fragile he’d been for the rest of that day. How… detached he’d sounded when he told Kate about his past childhood abuse. If not for how detached he’d been when he told that story, Kate would’ve said he’d been stuck in a flashback down in the basement. He certainly had  _ sounded  _ like a scared child.

Kate shook her head. This was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. If she was so worried about Tony, why didn’t she just ask him? Gibbs had said it wasn’t his place to share Tony’s business, but he hadn’t forbidden her from asking Tony about it himself.

“Something eating at you, Kate?” Tony asked with a mouth full of chewed up burger, walking into the bullpen and sitting down behind his desk, fast food bag in hand.

“Yeah, Tony,” Kate replied, sighing. Tony’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at her concerned tone. “Are you really okay?”

“Am I okay?” he repeated.

Kate nodded. “Because I know you  _ said  _ you’re okay, but I’ve never seen you like that before, and… don’t make fun of me, but I’m worried about you.”

“Is this about what happened in the basement?” Tony asked, voice lowering slightly, fast food abandoned.

“I guess,” Kate responded. “I just… Why did that happen, Tony? I’ve never known you to be that affected by something.”

Tony didn’t respond, frowning down at his lunch. Finally, he muttered something to himself that sounded suspiciously like “screw it” and stood from his desk. “Care to accompany me to the elevator, Ms. Todd?”

Kate rolled her eyes, but stood up from her desk and followed him to the elevator. Tony pressed the button and they stood together in silence while they waited for the doors to open. As soon as it did, they both stepped in and Tony pressed a random button so the doors would close, then he pulled the emergency switch, stopping the elevator.

“Learned that trick from Gibbs and Fornell,” Tony remarked, flashing Kate a grin.

“Tony,” Kate pressed, voice sharp. “What’s going on?”

“I’m getting there,” Tony promised. He then stared at her for a minute, scrutinizing. “But before I say  _ anything,  _ just know I’m only telling you this so you can stop worrying. As much as it flatters me that you care so much, it’s also kinda irritating having you stare at me at all hours of the day.”

“Tony,” Kate warned, glaring at him. “Get on with it.”

“Okay, I will. Just… you can’t tell anyone or make fun of me.”

“I won’t, Tony,” Kate said seriously. Her stomach was in knots at this point, a thousand possibilities of what could be wrong going through her head.

“Okay, good. So… have you ever heard of age regression?”

Kate shook her head, frowning. She hadn’t heard of it, but she could deduce what it might mean from its name.

“Well, I kinda had a crappy childhood,” Tony explained. Kate thought about what Tony told her in the basement, how his fear of the dark had began, and nodded to show she understood. “And sometimes, I revert back to a younger age to deal with it. And to deal with other things, like stress. Usually it’s nothing like what happened a week ago, but… I did sorta regress a bit in that basement. ‘Cause of my… my thing about the dark.”

Kate thought for a second, confused. “Is it involuntary?”

“No, not usually,” Tony replied. “But sometimes if I’m really upset or really stressed out I don’t exactly do it on purpose. It’s kind of like a coping mechanism.”

Kate thought about what Tony was telling him, connecting it to what she saw that day. And what Gibbs had said to her in the car. It felt like puzzle pieces were rapidly falling into place now that she knew. “Gibbs knows.”

Tony paused, face blank before nodding slightly. “Yeah, Gibbs knows.”

“How does Gibbs know?” Kate asked. She didn’t want to offend Tony, but Gibbs didn’t seem like the type to be… okay with all of this.

“Okay, here’s where it gets a little complicated,” Tony sighed. “Gibbs, um… he helps me out when I’m like that.”

“Like a... parental role?”

“Yeah,” Tony nodded. “Exactly like that.”

“Since when?” Kate asked.

“Probably about a year?” Tony replied. 

A year! The whole time Kate had been with NCIS and then some, and she’d had no idea?

“I… don’t know what to say, Tony,” Kate said honestly.

“Look, I know it’s weird, but I don’t expect you to do anything differently. I’m still DiNozzo, and usually this isn’t a problem at work. That was just… too much for adult me to handle and I’m sorry you had to deal with it,” Tony said, awkwardly shoving his hands into his pockets and averting his gaze.

“No, it’s not that — I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do find it a bit weird but I’ve certainly heard of weirder,” Kate said. “I just… I don’t know. I guess I don’t fully understand.”

“It’s not something anyone really gets immediately,” Tony allowed, shrugging. “I just don’t want you to think of me any differently because of this. If I could’ve helped it, I wouldn’t have reacted that way in the basement. I really am sorry, Kate.”

“Stop apologizing, Tony,” Kate ordered. “I’m not mad at you and I’m not holding your panic attack against you,  _ especially  _ knowing that it’s connected to trauma. I’m not  _ that _ big of a monster.”

Tony snorted.

“Does anyone else know?” Kate asked.

“Other than Gibbs and now you? No,” Tony answered, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Kate didn’t respond immediately, lost in thought. She’d never heard of something like this before, but now Tony’s reaction down in the basement made a lot more sense. He’d reacted like a scared child because, at the time, he’d  _ been  _ a scared child.

“Thanks for trusting me with this, Tony,” Kate said quietly, giving him a small smile. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks, Kate.”

Tony flipped the emergency switch again, and the elevator started moving.

“So, you said you do it for stress?” Kate questioned, and Tony nodded. “Does it work?”

“It does for me,” Tony answered.

The elevator doors opened and Tony stepped out. Kate followed a second later, but found herself still swimming in questions as she sat back down at her desk.

She was no longer worried about Tony as long as he assured her that he was okay and his… regression was nothing to worry about, but now she couldn’t help but wonder what he got out of it.

Sure, giving up control and being able to depend on someone else for a little while might be nice, but it certainly wasn’t a stress relief method that she’d ever considered before. 

Usually, when she was stressed, she would go home and take a nice long bubble bath and light some scented candles. Tony, apparently, went to Gibbs’ house and… did what, exactly? What did age regressing entail? Did  _ Tony  _ take bubble baths? Did he color? Play with toys? Watch cartoons?

Feel safe? Let Gibbs take care of everything adult while he got to let go for a little bit? Forget about all of the gruesome murders they worked on solving every day? Get to let his guard down and relax, knowing that Gibbs had his six? Thinking about it that way, Kate could definitely see the appeal.

* * *

Another week passed and Kate still found herself distracted. Try as she might, she just couldn’t stop thinking about what Tony had told her.

Admittedly, she was more than a little bit curious. She still had a million questions but she didn’t know where to even start asking them.

The biggest one of all: What did Gibbs get from this arrangement? She understood why Tony would enjoy it, getting to let go of adult worries for a while and let someone else take care of him. But why would Gibbs want to do the caring?

It especially confused her, considering that the Gibbs she knew at work certainly did not come off as someone who would enjoy that. Then again… Kate remembered how Gibbs had sat with Tony and comforted him in the basement… how he’d comforted  _ Kate  _ with only a few gentle words. It was like someone had flipped a switch inside Gibbs.

“Earth to Kate? Come in Kate?”

Snapped out of her thoughts, Kate looked over at Tony where he sat behind his desk. “What?”

“You’ve been staring into space for, like, ten minutes,” Tony replied. “It’s starting to creep me out. Plus, if Gibbs catches you…”

“If Gibbs catches her doing what, DiNozzo?”

DiNozzo straightened in his chair, grabbing a random file and flipping it open. 

“Uh, nothing, Boss. I was talking to our suspect,” Tony said, pointing at the picture in the file. “If Gibbs catches you, oh you’re in for it, buddy!”

“Not if, when, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said, rounding his desk. “And quit staring into space, Todd. You’ve got work to do.”

Kate blushed, picking up her pen and getting to work. She grabbed a random stack of paperwork and tried to read it, but the words just wouldn’t compute. Well, at least she  _ looked  _ like she was working.

“Todd,” Gibbs sighed. “Something preventing you from  _ working?” _

… Or maybe she  _ didn’t.  _

“No, Gibbs,” Kate replied. “Won’t happen again.”

“I know,” Gibbs said, giving her a look. Kate frowned and looked back down at the paperwork in front of her, ignoring the way she could feel Tony staring at her.

The rest of the day, she managed to mostly stay on task. By the time the work day was over, she’d gotten a decent amount of paperwork done.

She packed her things and threw her purse over her shoulder, walking to the elevator. As she stood waiting for the doors to open, Gibbs walked up next to her. Kate looked at the man, but he stared straight ahead. She opened her mouth, then closed it, shaking her head. She needed to just drop the whole thing. Eventually, she’d probably forget the entire incident.

The doors opened and they both stepped into the empty elevator. Kate pressed the button they needed and stepped back as the doors closed, but Gibbs stepped forward as soon as they did, flipping the emergency switch and stopping the elevator.

Kate waited for him to say something, but he didn’t, just stepped back and leaned against one wall, staring at her.

“Is… something wrong?” Kate eventually asked, breaking the silence in the elevator.

“You tell me,” Gibbs replied, shrugging one shoulder.

Shifting anxiously, Kate frowned. “I don’t think anything’s wrong.”

“Tony told me that he told you,” Gibbs informed.

Kate nodded, realization washing over her. “Yeah, he told me. But don’t worry, I’d never tell anyone. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“I wasn’t worried about that,” Gibbs responded casually, crossing an ankle over his other leg.

“Oh,” Kate said. “Then… why is the elevator stopped?”

“Well, something’s been eating at you. Thought I’d give you a chance to tell me instead of keeping it bottled up.”

Kate fell silent, worrying at her lip as she debated asking Gibbs what she’d been wanting to for the past week.

“Kate?” Gibbs pressed. That was all it took.

“Can I try it?” Kate asked. She met Gibbs’ eyes, wide in surprise. “You can say no. I’d totally understand. I just… can’t wrap my head around it and I feel like I’d get it better if I got to witness it firsthand.”

Gibbs nodded, uncrossing his ankles. “I’ll, uh. I’ll check with Tony and see if he’s okay with it. If he is, then I don’t see why not.”

“Okay,” Kate agreed, heart beating a little quicker than normal in her chest. She couldn’t believe that she’d actually asked, and that Gibbs had actually said  _ yes.  _ Well, if Tony was okay with it.

Gibbs flipped the emergency switch again and the elevator started to move once again. “I’ll let you know if he says yes.”

“Okay,” Kate agreed. “If he does, what happens?”

“You can come over and eat dinner?” Gibbs suggested. “There’s not much to it. Don’t overthink it.”

Kate paused. Seemed a bit easier said than done. She’d never, in her adult life, pretended to be a kid and as much as she didn’t want it to be, the task seemed daunting. She nodded anyway.

The elevator doors opened and Kate moved to step out, but Gibbs grabbed her arm and turned her back around. “I mean it, Kate. Don’t overthink it.”

“I won’t,” Kate promised. Gibbs nodded and let her go, following her out of the elevator and into the parking garage.


	3. Dinner

“Kate,” Gibbs called, walking into the bullpen, coffee in hand. Kate looked up from the file in front of her. “Hot dogs okay for dinner Friday night?”

“Dinner?” Kate asked, eyebrows coming together in confusion. Hot dogs for… Oh! Kate perked up in her chair, glancing over at Tony, who was smirking at her from his desk. “Uh, yes. Hot dogs are fine.”

“Good. Come over right after work.”

Kate nodded in agreement, heart racing.

It had been two days since Kate and Gibbs had talked in the elevator, and neither Gibbs nor Tony had brought up what Kate had asked since then. She’d assumed that Gibbs and Tony had talked it over and Tony hadn’t liked the idea. In fact, she was shocked that that  _ wasn’t  _ what happened.

Now, Kate’s stomach was filled with butterflies as she thought about Friday night. Would she be able to actually go through with this? Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure.

Shaking her head, she remembered Gibbs’ advice.  _ Don’t overthink it. _ Whatever happened, happened. Kate would just have to let things move naturally and see what came of Friday night. And wasn’t that what this was all about, anyway? Letting go of control?

The rest of the week moved slowly. Kate found herself growing more and more nervous as time passed, and by the end of the workday on Friday, she was sure she wasn’t going to be able to follow through.

“Alright, let’s call it,” Gibbs sighed, standing up from his desk. “Tony, you want a ride?”

“No, I can drive,” Tony replied, standing from his own desk and packing his things at a rapid pace, dancing slightly as he did so in excitement.

Kate, however, was rooted to her seat. Suddenly she was very sure she couldn’t go through with this. Her stomach was doing uncomfortable flips and she was bracing herself to call the whole thing off.

“Kate? You okay?” Tony asked, frowning at her in concern.

“I…” She said, stomach twisting. She looked at Gibbs and bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Gibbs. I think I need to cancel.”

Gibbs fixed her with a look. “What did I say before? Don’t overthink this, Kate. You want to do this, you’re gonna do it.”

Kate nodded, but she wasn’t convinced. How could she  _ not  _ overthink this? She doubted she’d be able to relax at all the entire night with the way she felt.

“If you get there and really don’t want to follow through, we can just have dinner, nothing more,” Gibbs continued, reassuring her. “Okay?”

Relaxing just a bit, Kate nodded more earnestly this time. If she couldn’t go all the way, it was fine. She could still go over and have dinner. “Okay. That sounds good.”

She stood from her chair and packed her things, and when she finished, all three of them walked to the elevator together. As they waited for the doors to open, Tony bounced slightly on his toes. Gibbs eyed him suspiciously.

“You  _ sure  _ you don’t need me to drive you, Tony?”

“Yeah, ‘m good,” Tony replied, cheeks turning pink. Kate watched him closely, seeing something in him that reminded her of that day in the basement. Was he already…?

Gibbs sighed. “Tony, I think I should drive you.”

Kate watched in surprise as Tony’s lip jutted out in a pout. This definitely wasn’t Adult Tony, then.

“Nooo,” he whined. “I can do it!”

“Tony…” Gibbs warned.

“I can drive him?” Kate offered, and both men — or, more accurately, both man and boy — turned to look at her. “I mean, if you’re both okay with it. I don’t mind.”

“Yes! Kate can drive me!” Tony exclaimed, latching onto her arm. Kate jumped a bit in surprise.

Gibbs huffed out a laugh. “If you’re okay with it, be my guest.”

“I don’t mind,” Kate responded. The elevator doors opened and Tony let go of Kate’s arm, practically throwing himself inside.

“Come on come on come on!” Tony exclaimed.

“Hey, I know this is an exciting night, but you need to calm down, Tony,” Gibbs warned, pointing a finger at him as he and Kate stepped into the elevator. Tony pouted at Gibbs’ warning, falling silent. Kate pressed the button they needed and the doors began to close.

Tony sulked for the entire elevator ride, but as soon as the doors opened, he was back to bouncing excitedly.

“You know how to get to my house, right?” Gibbs asked as they walked to their respective cars.

Kate nodded. “Yeah. I’ll probably follow you, though, just in case.”

“Sounds good,” Gibbs replied. He unlocked his car and eyed Tony, who was practically vibrating with energy. “You sure you don’t want me to drive him?”

“No, it’s okay. I honestly don’t want to drive there alone. If Tony’s in the car I can’t chicken out,” Kate replied.

Gibbs chuckled. “Good idea. And you,” he pointed at Tony, “better behave yourself.”

Looking offended, Tony replied, “I will!”

“Why don’t I believe that,” Gibbs muttered under his breath, shaking his head with a smile. “See you two there.”

Gibbs climbed in his car as Tony and Kate did the same to hers, and soon enough, Kate was following Gibbs out of the Yard, Tony in the passenger seat next to her, singing along to the radio.

“So…” Kate began, hands gripping the steering wheel just a little too tight. “What do you usually do at Gibbs’ house?”

Tony stopped singing and shrugged. “Not much. I play with toys and sometimes Papa plays with me and I color and Papa reads me stories too — Oh! And we watch movies together but only sometimes because Papa doesn’t like watching TV all that much unless it’s something really really old or the news and I hate watching the news ‘cause it’s boring.”

Kate fell silent for a second, trying to process all of what Tony had said. No matter what age he was, Tony had a motormouth.

“You call Gibbs Papa?” Kate asked, remembering how Tony had, apparently, nearly called their boss that word twice in the basement all those weeks ago.

“Yeah,” Tony said, rubbing his thumb around his lips like he wanted to pop it in his mouth. Most likely, he did. “That’s ‘cause he  _ is  _ Papa.”

Kate hummed, following Gibbs as he turned into his neighborhood. She didn’t ask Tony any more questions and for the rest of the ride, Tony resumed singing along to the radio.

They pulled up to the house, Kate parking behind Gibbs in his driveway, and Kate barely had time to put the car in park before Tony was unbuckling his seatbelt and hopping out of the car, running to the front door. Kate followed at a much slower pace, walking behind Gibbs as he exited his own car and following him into the house.

Tony was standing in the living room, bouncing up and down on his heels in excitement. “Papa can we get out the toys! I wanna show Kate my dinosaurs! Please papa please please please!”

“Tony, what did I say about being calm?” Gibbs reminded him. Something about his voice was different than Kate ever heard it at work. His words were reprimanding, but his current tone was much gentler than Work Gibbs’ usual intonation.

“Sorry, Papa,” Tony replied, not sounding very sorry at all but no longer bouncing in place.

“Why don’t you go to the bathroom and get ready before we pull out the toys?” Gibbs told him. Tony whined, but with one look from Gibbs, silenced and trudged up the stairs to the bathroom. Kate watched him go, wondering what exactly ‘getting ready’ entailed. Tony didn’t wear… Did he? Kate certainly didn’t feel comfortable doing  _ that. _

“I’m happy that you decided to come over, Kate,” Gibbs said, walking into the kitchen. Kate followed him, unsure of what to do. Was she supposed to be acting the way Tony was? Though she considered herself to be a decent actor, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to accomplish that.

Gibbs pulled out a pack of hot dogs and a frying pan, setting them on the counter. He then opened up the freezer and pulled out a bag of tater tots. “Do you want to play with Tony or would you rather help me make dinner? Either option is okay with me.”

“I’d rather help you,” Kate replied, relieved. She was admittedly a bit overwhelmed already.

“Okay,” Gibbs agreed, pulling out a knife and cutting open the package of hot dogs. He set the package next to the stove and grabbed the frying pan, taking it over to the sink and filling the bottom with half an inch of water.

Once he’d set the frying pan on a burner and turned on the heat, he set the oven to preheat and pulled out a cookie tray. He then opened the bag of tater tots and set them down next to the tray. “Can you put the tater tots on the tray for me and try to space them out? Then you can help me cook the hot dogs, if you want.”

Kate nodded, grabbing the bag and pouring out some tater tots. As she got to work spreading them out, Tony came into the kitchen.

“Kate, aren’t you gonna play with me?” he asked, frowning as he took a seat at the kitchen table.

Kate paused, unsure of how to tell Tony she wasn’t quite ready for that without hurting his feelings. Thankfully, Gibbs cut in and saved her from having to figure out what to say. “She might later, kiddo. Right now Kate’s helping me with dinner.”

Tony groaned, putting his head down on the surface of the table. “But that’s so boring! And my toys are fun!”

“Dinner’ll be done in twenty minutes, Tony. You don’t want to spend that time in the corner, do you?” Gibbs asked.

“No,” Tony mumbled.

“Didn’t think so,” Gibbs replied. “Now you can go play by yourself until dinner is ready or you can bring a coloring book in here. Which one do you want to do?”

Tony dragged himself out of his chair with a sigh. “Play in there,” he muttered, stomping out of the room.

Kate bit her lip, watching him go. “Gibbs, I don’t think I can do this. I can’t… act like that. It doesn’t feel natural to me. It’s great that this works for Tony, but…”

“Hey,” Gibbs said gently. “Who said you have to act like Tony? Just because what he does works for him doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. You don’t have to force it.”

Kate paused, thinking it over. “So I wouldn’t have to be a toddler? Like Tony?”

“Of course not, not if you don’t want to be,” Gibbs assured her. “Just do what feels natural to you. Whatever age that may be.”

“Okay,” Kate said. She could give it a shot. It was a conscious effort to relax, but incrementally, she was able to do so. Once she’d calmed down a bit, it was easier for her to do what came naturally. “Can I help make the hot dogs?”

“You can,” Gibbs said. “But you have to be very careful so you don’t burn yourself. Have you ever made hot dogs on the stove before?”

Kate shook her head. Gibbs motioned for her to come a bit closer to the stove top, where the water in the frying pan was starting to boil slightly. “You see how the water is boiling now?”

Kate nodded. Gibbs grabbed a hot dog and set it in the water, sizzling. “That means the hot dogs are ready to go in. Do you want to flip them after I put the hot dogs in the pan?”

“Okay,” Kate agreed, stepping forward as Gibbs finished placing the rest of the hot dogs into the pan. Gibbs handed her a pair of tongs and she smacked them together once, enjoying the metallic  _ ting! _ noise they made.

“Now, before you flip them you need to let them cook a little on one side, but you don’t want them to cook for too long,” Gibbs informed her. While Kate studiously watched the hot dogs cook, Gibbs placed the tater tots in the oven. 

A few minutes later, he asked, “Do you think they’re ready to be flipped?”

“Probably,” Kate replied, grabbing a hot dog and turning it over. The side that had just finished cooking was lightly browned; it looked perfect.

“Good job,” Gibbs praised, rubbing her shoulder. Kate smiled, feeling her insides go all warm. She flipped the rest of the hot dogs carefully. “Those look great so far, Kate. You sure you’ve never cooked hot dogs like this before?”

“No, never,” Kate replied, grinning.

“Coulda fooled me,” Gibbs said. Kate felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks. Was she really  _ that  _ good at cooking hot dogs?

“A few more minutes and these will be done cooking, I think,” Gibbs remarked, looking closely at them. He then opened the refrigerator and pulled out ketchup, mustard, and relish, and sat them in the middle of the kitchen table. Next, he pulled hot dog buns from the pantry and set them on the counter. “Can you set the table for me, Kate?”

“Mhm,” Kate agreed. “Where do you keep the plates?”

“In that cabinet,” Gibbs pointed to a cabinet and Kate opened it, revealing a stack of ceramic plates. Kate pulled out three and set them each at three of the spots at the kitchen table. She then grabbed three napkins and set them next to the plates.

“Thank you, kiddo,” Gibbs said, ruffling her hair. “Can you go get Tony from the living room while I finish up?”

Kate nodded, walking out of the kitchen and into the living room, where Tony was playing with dinosaur figurines, making them roar at each other and smashing them together. 

“Tony, dinner’s ready,” she said. Looking at all the toys laid out around him, Kate marveled. “Wow, you have a lot of toys.”

“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “My dinosaurs are the coolest by far, but I got lots more than just them.”

“After dinner, can you show them to me?” Kate asked. All of Tony’s toys looked really cool! She wished she’d played with him before dinner!

“Really?!” Tony exclaimed. “You really wanna?!”

“Yeah, they look really fun,” Kate said. “Maybe we could play a game together?”

“Yeah yeah yeah!” Tony agreed, bouncing up and down.

“You two going to come eat or do I have to eat all three of our dinners myself?” Gibbs asked, popping into the living room.

“No, Papa! Don’t eat my dinner!” Tony exclaimed, hopping up and running into the kitchen. Kate followed, pace a little quicker than she’d usually walk because while she didn’t  _ think  _ Gibbs would eat her dinner, she couldn’t be sure.

Gibbs had placed the tater tots on each plate already, divvying them up equally. The hot dogs were on a plate in the middle of the table, as well as the buns and condiments. Tony reached for the hot dogs and Gibbs gave his hand a light smack.

“Nice try, kiddo,” he said. “I’ll make your plate. Do you want a bun or do you want me to cut yours up?”

“Bun!” Tony exclaimed.

“Inside voice, Tony,” Gibbs calmly reprimanded, grabbing a bun from the bag and placing a hot dog in it. He then grabbed the ketchup and drizzled some on Tony’s hot dog and a bit more on the side of his plate for his tater tots. Noticing that Kate hadn’t fixed her plate, Gibbs said, “Kate, you can fix your own plate if you want to.”

Kate didn’t move. “I…”

“What is it, kiddo?” Gibbs asked.

That was all it took for Kate to work up the courage to ask for what she wanted. “Can you cut up my hot dog?”

“Of course I can,” Gibbs replied, grabbing her plate and a hot dog, and cutting it up for her. Kate grinned. She loved eating hot dogs like this, way more than with a bun, but she hadn’t done it in years.

Gibbs fixed his own plate and they all began to eat. Or, more accurately, Tony  _ continued _ to eat as Kate and Gibbs began to eat; he was nearly halfway done with his hot dog by the time they started, ketchup oozing down his face and between his fingers.

Tony finished his food first, covered in ketchup by the time he popped his last tater tot in his mouth. Gibbs surveyed the mess, shaking his head. “Jeez, kid,” he muttered.

“Can I go play now?” Tony asked, swinging his legs impatiently.

“Not until I get you cleaned up,” Gibbs replied. “And I’ve got to finish eating first.”

Tony sighed but didn’t protest, waiting while Kate and Gibbs both finished eating even though it looked like every second he had to wait was pure agony. Gibbs dramatically brought his last bite of hot dog to his mouth in slow motion and Tony whined.

“Papa! C’mon!”

Gibbs popped the rest of his hot dog in his mouth and Tony cheered. Standing from the table, Gibbs stacked his and Tony’s plates and grabbed them. Kate picked up her own plate to carry it to the sink but Gibbs grabbed it from her, setting it on top of the other two.

“I got it,” he said, smiling at her. “You helped with dinner. I’ve got cleanup.”

Kate smiled, excited that she’d be able to play with Tony and all his cool toys that much sooner.

“Alright, now let’s get you cleaned up,” Gibbs said to Tony, leading him to the kitchen sink. After turning on the water and letting Tony get his hands wet, Gibbs poured some soap into his hands. He then grabbed a clean dishrag and wet it, wiping at Tony’s face as Tony scrubbed his hands together.

Once Tony was clean, Kate quickly washed her own hands since she’d eaten with her fingers. Gibbs carried the plates to the sink, and Kate hesitated while Tony ran out to the living room to play.

“Are you sure you don’t need my help?” Kate asked. She felt guilty leaving Gibbs to clean up all by himself, even though she really wanted to play.

“I’m sure, Kate,” Gibbs assured her. “It’s really not that much to clean up, anyway. Go ahead and play.”

Reassured by his words, Kate hurried out of the kitchen and into the living room.

“There you are!” Tony exclaimed as she came into the room and sat down across from him.

“What are we playing?” Kate asked, surveying the toys laid out in front of them. Tony had so many!

“I ‘unno,” Tony replied, sucking on two fingers. “Usually I jus’ have ‘em roar an’ fight an’ stuff.”

Kate got an idea. “Why don’t we make up a story for the game we play?”

“Like what?” Tony asked.

“Like…” Kate hummed in concentration. “Oh! All the dinosaurs have superpowers because of a radioactive meteorite!”

“Ooh! Yeah!” Tony agreed, bouncing up and down.

“And…” Kate grabbed a G.I. Joe from Tony’s toy box, “an alien comes to steal all their powers and they have to stop him!”

“Yes! An’ the dinosaurs form a team so they can stop him together ‘cause they can’t do it by themselves!”

Kate smiled. “That’s a great idea, Tony!”

Tony grinned around his fingers and grabbed one of the larger dinosaurs, a T-Rex. “This can be the leader of the group of dinosaurs ‘cause he’s big and strong.”

“Okay, and his superpower can be super strength,” Kate suggested.

“Yeah! An’ he tries to fight the alien all by himself at first since he’s the strongest but he loses at first,” Tony added, picking up the T-Rex figurine. Kate took the G.I. Joe and hit Tony’s dinosaur with it, and Tony threw the dinosaur on its side, groaning dramatically as he did.

“So when he wakes up he decides to gather the bravest dinosaurs to fight the alien with him,” Kate said, picking up the T-Rex and standing it in front of the other dinosaurs.

“An’ the alien doesn’t make a team ‘cause he thinks he’s better off without one!” Tony said.

“And together, the T-Rex and his team fight the alien,” Kate said, holding the G.I. Joe in place as Tony grabbed all of the dinosaurs in his hands at once and threw them at it. She giggled and let go of the toy, cheering as it fell over. “And they win!”

Tony whooped, taking his hand out of his mouth so he could throw both arms in the air. “That was so much fun! I never think up real good stories like that when I play!”

Kate smiled, a flush to her face. She was having more fun than she could remember having in a very long time. “That was really fun,” she agreed. “Wanna play something else?”

Tony nodded vigorously and the two of them went through Tony’s toy box, picking out the new toys that would go with their new story.

They played for another thirty minutes before Gibbs entered the room. “Alright, I think it’s time to wrap things up. It’s about bedtime.”

“Nooo,” Tony whined. “Papa, can’t we stay up a little bit longer? Kate hasn’t even played with all of my toys yet!”

“Bedtime is bedtime, kiddo,” Gibbs said, shaking his head. He then looked at Kate, who had a small frown on her face but wasn’t protesting. “But if Kate wants to play again another time and get a chance to see more of your toys, she’s welcome to whenever she wants.”

Perking up at that, Kate smiled slightly. “I can?” she asked.

“Of course you can,” Gibbs affirmed, tousling her hair.

“I’d like that a lot,” Kate replied, grinning. She was sad the night had to come to an end, but excited at the prospect of doing this again.

“Alright, Tony, let’s go change,” Gibbs said, pulling Tony off the ground before Tony could throw a fit. He patted Tony’s bottom as Tony began to trudge up the stairs. “Bathroom first, kiddo. Get cleaned up.”

Kate, meanwhile, picked up the toys strewn about the living room and returned them to Tony’s toy box. A smile danced on her lips as she thought about how much fun she’d had.

“You’re welcome to stay the night,” Gibbs said, walking over and sitting on the armrest of the couch.

“Maybe another time? I’d love to, but…” Kate trailed off, unsure how to explain how she was feeling. She’d really had fun, but...

“Too much too fast? I get it,” Gibbs replied. “My door is always open, though, Kate.”

“Thanks, Gibbs,” Kate replied, standing up. “I’ll definitely take you up on that offer. I really enjoyed tonight.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Gibbs replied, standing from the couch and following Kate to the front door.

Kate walked outside, keys in hand and feet light on the ground. She’d had so much fun, much more than she’d been expecting to. Not to mention that she now felt more relaxed than she had been in  _ years.  _

Yeah, she was pretty sure she’d be coming back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
